Search Assistant by RIE Technology Corp. adds web‑based image search to After Effects and Premiere Pro, letting users pull free stock photos from sites like Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay and more, with filters for Creative Commons and commercial licenses.
Developed by RIE Technology Corp..
About Search Assistant
Search Assistant is a plugin for After Effects and Premiere Pro that integrates a web image search engine directly into the Adobe applications. It retrieves free stock images from popular repositories such as Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons, Freepik, StockSnap, Gratisography, Burst, FreeImages and LibreStock. The tool includes advanced filtering that lets users sort results by license type, offering separate views for Creative Commons images—typically free but requiring attribution or having usage limits—and for images under commercial or other licenses, which may require payment. Version 2.0.3, released March 19, 2024, fixes an importing issue in recent After Effects builds. Compatibility requirements are After Effects 16.0+, Premiere Pro 13.0+, and additional support for Photoshop 20.0+, Illustrator 23.0+, and InDesign 14.0+.
Features
- Image search powered by a comprehensive image search engine on the web
- Free stock image search across popular sites including Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons and more
- Advanced filtering by license type
- Creative Commons filter for images that are usually free but may require credit or carry usage limits
- Commercial & other licenses filter covering non-Creative Commons images from free or paid sites
Best for
After Effects and Premiere Pro users who need to search for and import free stock images while being able to filter results by license type.
Frequently asked questions
Does Search Assistant work with After Effects 16.0 and Premiere Pro 13.0?
Yes. Search Assistant supports After Effects version 16.0 and later, and Premiere Pro version 13.0 and later, as stated in its compatibility list.
Does Search Assistant support the latest After Effects?
Version 2.0.3 includes a fix for an importing issue in recent After Effects releases and remains compatible with After Effects 16.0 and newer builds.
Is Search Assistant free to use?
The listing marks Search Assistant as free, but licensing terms may change; users should verify the current pricing and any image‑specific licenses before use.
What image sources does Search Assistant search?
The plugin searches a web‑based image engine that gathers free stock photos from Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons, Freepik, StockSnap, Gratisography, Burst, FreeImages and LibreStock.
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